Gareth Pugh's latest demonstration was the best kind of fashion show: one that reflects on the world it inhabits, results in strong critiques, and provides a strong, undeniably opinionated cohesive message. This truly terrifying show began to unfold on social media, weeks before the basement setting and the mind-melting track started playing. Pugh released a few images on the brand's Instagram in protest of the election of President Donald Trump, with the hashtag #fucktrump and #pussygrabsback. This opposition to the Trump agenda in the United States was an unavoidable theme for Pugh as this show. Hosted under five flights of stairs, in an unfinished basement devoid of light, journalists and other guests sat in narrow spaces in total darkness until a soft, classical voice challenged the listener to "stay awake, keep your eyes open". Then a thunderous crash of sound and light interrupted. The soft, caring voice was replaced with a screaming drill sergeant, spliced with Trump hollering "Build that wall! Build that wall!", spliced with pop music from the past forty years, and other themes in a wild and unsettling cacophony. Pugh was smashing these recorded media together, with terrifying results. The listener simply couldn't follow, and it was impossible to calculate the beat in the soundtrack. Perhaps Pugh was referring to the clamor of information so readily available on the internet and on social media platforms. Perhaps he thinks the internet is what got us in this mess and what is going to make the future only worse. The first warrior of Pugh's terrifying vision of the future was clad in big, black leather boots and a pointed collar leather coat with black vinyl covering her eyes. This freakish makeup continued, as some of Pugh's greatest friends strutted around in all black military-esque jackets and faux fur. At first glance they may seem like just your average London club kids and dominatrices, but they are the average people of the brutal future in Pugh's eye. The clothes in and of themselves were nothing revolutionary, as Pugh played with and used many of his previous silhouettes and techniques in his trademark black. However, it was the setting and the stomping of which they were subjected to that made the clothes feel new and modern. Trash bag-like material billowed around in the storm as sculptural constructions stayed put on the model's forms. It can be denounced then that the purpose of this fashion show was to state a strong, political viewpoint by Pugh, rather than offer frivolous and trendy ideas that Pugh has never been a fan of anyway. Gareth Pugh has an undeniable opinion this season. This only pushes him further as a designer, with more than a decade of experience, into a realm of superiority over designers who choose not to have a well-rounded opinion on the turbulent political climates of the world. The world which we all inhabit, in fact.
Photo Credits: VogueRunway.com
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